Now they and rescuers are trapped at Gila Visitor Center after debris flow covers the road, more hikers, kayakers may be trapped or at risk

SILVER CITY - Two couples and a toddler had to be rescued Saturday morning after being trapped at Jordan Hot Springs by the rising waters of the Gila.

Incident Commander Marc Levesque said the first couple and their toddler were overdue to come out of the Gila after leaving on a camping trip on Sept. 3. The couple and their 3-year-old were due back back on Thurs. Sept. 12 but hadn't returned. A search and rescue mission was launched for them early Saturday morning after friends of the first couple helped rescuers piece together an itinerary.
Two National Guard helicopters out of Las Cruces were sent to search the area near Jordan Hot Springs.
"We had a prtty good notion that they were stuck up between the meadows and Jordan Hot Springs and we had one chopper flying right up the middle fork and one of the places we wanted them to check was Jordan Hot Springs, and bingo," he said.

The two couples had been hiking separately but came upon each other at the hot springs or nearby, Levesque said. The first couple with the toddler had been trapped there since Tuesday, similar to what happened to the group of students and teachers from Aldo Leopold High School, when the Gila rose an unprecedented eight feet overnight - the 12th highest vertical rise since 1928 when they started recording data.

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The two men from the couples were able to cross the river and were trying to find a way to get the others out over land when they were all spotted by the crew in the helicopters.
"The first chopper hoisted out the women and child and brought them back to the Visitor Center (near the Cliff Dwellings) and the second brought the two men in," Levesque said.

But they are not out of the woods - literally - yet.
Now, Levesque said, all of them, including the rescuers, are trapped at the Gila Visitor Center after the river surged at about 11 a.m. Saturday morning and a debris flow covered Highway 15, just south of the bridge as you come into the Cliff Dwellings.
"I have never seen a river flow like it in my life," Levesque said. "There was this huge debris field flooded over Highway 15. The water has receded but the road has a pile of trees on it and we can't get out and so we are waiting for DOT to come and clear the road," Levesque said.

Meanwhile, Levesque said he got word that there may be more campers and some kayakers overdue or in danger. Allen Campbell from Doc Campbell's said he spotted three people in two inflatable kayaks on the river just ahead of the surge. Also four people were reported missing from Wildwood Retreat and Hot Springs, and two solo hikers were last seen Monday heading up the Middle Fork of the Gila River. Levesque said the helicopters are flying down the river on their way back to the Grant County Airport to refuel and will check with their commander and may head back up the river to search for signs of the others.